Before I begin this second post I must issue a clarification on the subject of ‘evolution’. It appears to me there is a lot of ignorance and omission from both evolutionists and creationists when debating this subject. I include myself when I say ignorance but perhaps it is more lazy thinking.

The problem is that the whole ‘Evolution vs Creationism’ debate is framed wrong. When the term ‘evolution’ is used, it’s far too indefinite and absolute. Thus creationists (who believe God created the universe) easily fall into the trap of arguing against the whole theory and appearing quite stupid. Creationists should not be arguing against ‘evolution’. They should study it and argue on the specifics.

CULTURE VULTURE: The Environment. Sure we should be smart and not drop litter, we should do what we can to reduce our individual waste… but this is one of the latest examples of the church jumping on a cultural bandwagon rather than seeking to make a difference in peoples lives. Plus, if more people did their research, they might discover that there’s not much we can do about global warming, it may even be part of God’s design for the planet. Have you noticed how nature is always moving and shifting through various seasons? It’s is only human beings who want to stay in place, prevent change and establish foundations. Not that, that is bad, but we should realise nature does not ask our permission before it changes.

BIBLE BASHING: Gay Rights. Of course, as a Christian if I was to have sex with man, I would be committing a sin. However this would also be the case if I had sex with a prostitute. And being a married Christian, if I was to have sex with another woman other than my wife, I would also be committing a sin. Why does the church focus on one sexual sin when protesting moral decline? How many Christians are divorced and remarried? Aah but there’s extenuating circumstances… violent spouses etc… we should be sensitive and understanding. Then likewise, we should be sensitive and understanding to homosexuals. It should also be noted that where God is concerned, it is only the church that should be subject to this kind of moral law. But the predominant question is this: Why shouldn’t homosexuals be free from prejudice?

This Post Is Rated: I for Ooh… Illegal. Or is it… and what are the implications?

It’s already been done 1.3 million times and counting. After some careful consideration, I thought I’d join in and “break the law” too:

09-f9-11-02-9d-74-e3-5b-d8-41-56-c5-63-56-88-c0

This string of seemingly random numbers forms a key to unlocking the DRM on HD-DVD and Blue Ray hardware. The AACS-LA does not want people to publish this number. In fact it has even threatened legal action against those who choose to publish this set of numbers.

I won’t go into too much detail here because this story is old and there is already plenty of information on the web and it’s been covered extensively by BoingBoing.

But is it really illegal to publish a set of numbers? Interestingly (at the time of publishing this post) it has not been tested in court which really raises the question of whether it’s actually illegal to own and publish these numbers. Can you really own a number? Something tells me it never will be tested, or if it is, the AACS will probably fail. Can you really see them filing a law-suit against 1.3 million people, many who probably don’t even reside in America?

Interestingly, Ed Felton of Freedom to Tinker already addressed the issue of 128-bit number ownership:

Now, thanks to our newly developed VirtualLandGrab technology, you can own a 128-bit integer of your very own (and then presumably, start issuing take-down notices to anyone who publishes the numbers or keeps a copy of them).

Here’s how we do it. First, we generate a fresh pseudorandom integer, just for you. Then we use your integer to encrypt a copyrighted haiku, thereby transforming your integer into a circumvention device capable of decrypting the haiku without your permission. We then give you all of our rights to decrypt the haiku using your integer. The DMCA does the rest. – You Can Own An Integer Too – Get Yours Here!

I’m plan to do a follow up post on this subject as it demands a more thoughtful analysis, but my initial thoughts on this subject is that we have moved beyond a mere Information Age and are becoming part of a type of Information Revolution. Traditional business models and capitalist frameworks are being usurped by Creative Commons and Open Source. These examples speak for themselves:

Whether you know it or not you are witness to a civil war taking place over the net. The internet is a type of ‘wild west’ or Electronic Frontier if you will. All the rules from the old country no longer count. If you Google search, blog, social network, make internet calls or have ever used any kind of free or open source software then you have already chosen your side or become a sympathiser for the revolutionaries.

My second thought is this, by pursuing legal action even against people who simply publish a string of numbers (regardless of knowledge of how to use them), then the AACS and other vested interests are already losing the battle. They dilute the severity of their claim by attacking anyone without discretion, and they will be opening the door for people to claim ownership of numbers and text (see above)- the end result would be death of progress, innovation and design. Imagine a programmer that would have to obtain rights from a different ‘owner’ for every line of code they wrote for a new program? Perhaps the only way to move forward would be for programmers to learn Klingon or some other language- until the AACS claimed ownership of certain strings of Klingon numbers and words.

In my view, those who are blurring the lines between what is and isn’t illegal copying are the proprietors and proponents of DRM and the DMCA.

This Post Is Rated: N for Nothing to hide, nothing to fear. Contains references to giant robots and how wrong they’ve all got it.

In March I blogged about real Terminators in the not to distant future, inspired by Prof. Prabhu Guptara’s blog post on the subject. I found an interesting post in Paleo-Future‘s archives recently: Gigantic Robots to Fight our Battles. Of course this was originally written in 1934, but doesn’t it sound like a feasible future solution to war and terrorism? Imagine, everyone could live in peace whilst nations no longer kill each other but decide who wins with robots.

Of course… this will never happen and the reason why is simple- death. Death has the final say, wins all arguments and wins all wars.

Suppose a future nation, for trade benefits, decides to conquer another smaller nation. Both nations have powerful robots/weapons and agree to go to war in some distant desert. Eventually one nations robots obtain the upper hand and win the war. Neither nation has experienced bloodshed, sacrificed their armies or lost any territory. So what incentive is there for the ‘losing’ nation to give up power and be occupied? No leader or nation is going to willingly allow themselves to be taken over simply because they lost a few robots in some remote location that did not affect them. The only logical step for the ‘winner’ is to then use their remaining robots and weapons against the nation they have won the victory. Even if they succeed to conquer without further violence, it has been through the threat of bloodshed, to induce compliance, not the absence of it.

But there is a greater threat to global freedom and democracy underfoot. Without knowing it, the world is in a new subterranean arms race. It’s the race for robots in which the Asian continent seems to be leading. It’s the robot arms race, specifically for robots capable of successfully identifying and exterminating (as well as rescuing and serving) human targets. Whoever wins this arms race will probably end up deciding the fate of the planet. The ability to deploy robots into any hostile civilian or combat situation will give the nation with the greatest AI, the keys to the world kingdom. They will either end up dictating the course of other nations for their own benefit, or we will enter another cold war where fear of our enemies robots both keep our fingers on the trigger and prevent us deploying our own AI at the same time.

The only viable way that an AI cold war could be prevented is in much the same way as the last one was ended- by diplomacy. It would require one or more nations to to pledge against using anti-personnel robots on the battlefield (much the same way chemical weapons are forbidden now).

This Post Is Rated: M for Mildly Offensive. Londoners may take particular offense at the revelations of this post (and they are welcome to it).

Inserted with Windows Live Writer… Impressive eh?

Last year I moved from Warwickshire, England to Ealing, Londonland and having been in this strange culture for several months now, I feel able to comment on it fully.

Londonland is ruled by Supreme Dictator Red Ken, whose rule has been unchallenged for 7 years and at this rate looks set to go on forever. Natives of Londonland refer to it simply as London, but it is quite obvious that the Supreme Dictator considers London to be a separate state from the country of England, where I come from. After all, in England, mayors of large cities tend to serve the inhabitants of their cities and are concerned with matters within their jurisdiction. It would be rare to see an English mayor flying all over the world to attract business and mass-migration, posturing on the world stage like a prime minister, president or royalty would.

This Post Is Rated: C for Controversial. Would have been fun if it hadn’t been about a life-threatening contraption built by environMENTALISTS.

If anyone wanted further proof that the environMENT has become more important that human life, last month Top Gear released the G-Wiz Crash tests:

This is the car Red Ken, Global Leader and Supreme Dictator of Londonland, wants you and everyone else to drive one of these awful death-traps.

Here’s a piece cut from the FAQ on G-Wiz manufacturers site:

What about safety in the G-Wiz?The G-Wiz is a breakthrough product in the fight against climate change… Thanks but we asked about safety
Excessive speed, no seat belts, alcohol & drug usage, and driver error are the main causes of accidents and injuries in the UK… Just so you know, it’s not our fault if you end up dead in oneWhilst larger, heavier cars in general perform better in crash tests, they are also more likely to injure other road users… Our cars will only kill you
The G-Wiz has a tubular steel space frame which surrounds the driver and passengers. This includes side impact bars and a front crumple zone designed to protect passengers in low speed collisions… Low speed collision = 2mph?

Why have no manufacturer Euro NCAP crash tests been done on the G-Wiz?Neither the Euro NCAP test nor the Dept of Transport UNECE Regulation 94 test are required or recommended under the European regulation for quadricycles. Both tests are designed for M1 vehicles, primarily cars capable of speeds in excess of 100 mph and not low speed urban vehicles… Wow, that’s convenient, avoids any marketing problems.Like all vehicle manufacturers RECC is however constantly reviewing safety features and innovation relative to usage… I feel safer already – as long as the other guy is driving one.

“And they admitted that illegal aliens and strangers didn’t belong in their country. People who say such things show that they are happy with the country God has given them to protect. If they had been thinking of leaving their country, they would have been wrong. Instead, they were happy in the country they were born in. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared borders for them to defend.” – Epistle to the Hebrews Ch. 11

Apparently the Devil is seeking to undermine God’s country. And when I say God’s country, I’m obviously talking about America of course.

America is the place God has prepared for us Christians to go when we die, except we better have our passports and visas ready, or we’re all going to Hell with Europe instead.

Checking my stats this evening, it’s always fun to see what people googled to find AAF.

“immigration laws on how i can deport my wife” helped someone to find their way here. I do hope you can work it out.

“arrested handcuffed or handcuffs or handcuffing or handcuff…”

“dark side xxx” got someone to a Christian blog, which is not quite what I think they were looking for.

“threatening letters” No not coming from here, honest. Unless you’re referring to the ones I sent the bank…

“immigrant you shriek, 12 apostles”

“abandon pigeon in the street”

“fear of people named alex” Gets me number 1.

“filipino sex blog” Actually got me a hit once, I tell no lie.

These are all search terms from various points over the last couple of months, so most have slipped off the first page of rankings by now.

I’ve also noticed a few hits through a proxy search engine AnonyMouse. This allows you to surf the web without disclosing your IP address which is quite useful. Interesting since the hits don’t correlate with any critics so far as I can tell.